Thanks!

We are fast approaching the traditional season of giving thanks.  Routinely we forget how blessed we are.  Since we forget to remember, we also forget thankfulness.  Our family has received countless blessings, in every thing, "good" or "bad".  We work to remember.  Thank you!

Ella's First School Picture

Sugatas and Tuckers Prior to Trick-or-Treating

Baseball, Baseball Pacifier, Baseball Pacifier Strap-thingy

Heidi's Photography

The Next Generation of Mr. Universe

Have a great Thanksgiving!

So Much Fun!

We celebrated my birthday last week with a little sushi and Heidi's homemade German Chocolate Cake.  It's been a favorite of mine since I was a little guy.  My Grandma Denise used to make it every year for birthdays.

Last weekend we went to Jackpot Ranch in Verde Valley.  Heidi rode the mechanical bull.  She was an awesome rodeo chick!  We posed for a photo and got some pumpkins, too.  After we finished up at the ranch we headed to Munds Park with our friends and nearly capped off a perfect Saturday, dance party included...but Olivia drove us to the brink of insanity without her mimi (pacifier).  She would not wind down so we bailed out at 1:19 a.m. and headed for home nearly 2.5 hours away.

The girls painted their pumpkins from Jackpot Ranch.  Ella and Olivia love to color and paint.  Art is huge for them.

October: One of Our Favorite Months

Incredibly enough, October is nearly half over!  We very much enjoy October whether we're in Michigan, California, or Arizona.  Warm days and cool nights are the right mix for outdoor activity and great memories...

Owen and I have been enjoying playoff baseball!  We are so excited that the Tigers are still fighting for MLB supremacy.

Grandma Dede and Grandpa Chuck came out for a week.  The kids had a great time with them.  Heidi and I got to sneak away a couple of times, too.  While they were here we celebrated Grandma Dede's birthday, explored the Botanical Garden, visited the Science Center, and played at the splash pad.  We also did our day to day that included school, work, eye appointments, small group, BSF, exercise, eating, church, and sleep...Heidi and I just got a new bed!  So far so good!

We were happy to have them come and visit.  Now it's back to business as usual.

Family of Five

We seem to be getting into the groove of our life.  Heidi has been focused on taking care of the family and the home.  She's been mastering the art of managing the schedules of the kids and doing it well!

Ella has been excelling at school.  She hasn't been disciplined once...that we know of!  We had a birthday party for her a couple of weeks ago.  She had fun but had a melt down that has been documented with video footage - she'll appreciate it when she matures, I'm certain.

Olivia misses her sister, but is coping.  Heidi says that the days are pretty quiet with just Olivia and Owen home.  They spend their days reading, playing with dolls, going to the splash pad, going the Bible Study Fellowship, and working out at the gym.

Owen is still growing.  His hands and feet are very generous.  He's easily wearing 6-9 month clothes and loves to stand in our laps.  He's really a happy baby but most definitely loves to be held or with the crowd.

We start a small group next week.  It's been too long since our last group.  Both Heidi and I are excited to do life with our peers.

Mom and Chuck are coming out next week.  We can't wait to have them visit.  I am sure they are very excited to see the kids and spend some time in the sun.

Lots of Visitors

We've had a busy August and September!  As you know the Blacksons came out to start August.  Then our friends from Edmonton came down for two weeks.  Erin and Tony came to visit for several days.  Lastly Melissa and Preslie came to hang out last weekend!  We spent lots of time at the Science Center, the pool, and hanging around the house playing.  It was a lot of fun but we're happy to have some down time.

School Days

Ella started school.  She loves it.  She is settling in nicely, but gets pretty tired by Friday.  She goes from 9:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. every weekday.  She goes through her work with us every day.  It's amazing how much she is learning in such a short time.

Olivia misses her sister.  She is coping but learning to be the leader during the day.  Olivia is enjoying spending time with Heidi and Owen.

The girls celebrated Ashley's birthday.  She is from Edmonton and comes to stay a few times durning the year.  The girls have a blast together.

Owen in growing like a weed.  He loves to smile and take in everything around him.  His heart is warm.

We are all adjusting to our new schedule.  Ella has continued gymnastics with practice on Monday afternoons.  Surely by mid-September we'll be in sync!

Family Style

Now that we've added a fifth member to the family, we've decided to combine the girls' blogs and make a mega-blog for the family.  The other two will still be available for the girls (ellamarietucker.blogspot.com and tuckerround2.blogspot.com) if they choose to take them over as they mature, but until then, this will be the new site for the family.

Owen is growing like crazy.  He will be 3 months old on Friday!

Heidi found time to construct a head board...pretty impressive if you ask me!

We had friends from Charlotte come visit us last weekend.  The Blacksons (Josh, Angie, Alyssa, Kaitlyn, and Karis) all hung out and got to experience the desert heat with us for a couple of days.  The girls enjoyed playing.  We went to the Arizona Science Center and tried out a new eatery call the Main Ingredient.

Tomorrow is a very big day for us as Ella starts kindergarten.  She is very excited as is the rest of the family.  Today we went to meet her new teacher, see her classroom, and tour the school.  Afterwards, Heidi took the kids to the splash pad to meet the Murphys for back to school splash!